The Specialists
by Nyhlus
Summary: It's 1867 in Northern Mexico. A young man is looking to recruit the best gun-for-hires in the region. Chapter 3, A Spy has infiltrated the Sheriff's office in Janos but what are his motives and who is he working for? A Spaghetti Western.
1. The Assassin

This story is my ode to Spaghetti Westerns, specifically those made by the master Sergio Leone, (_The Dollars Trilogy_ and _Duck, You Sucker!_). There are plenty of other influences as well, with many references to works by Akira Kurosawa for example, (_Seven Samurai_, _Yojimbo_).

With the story being set in the 1860s in northern Mexico I decided to take a couple liberties with some of the character names. For example Heero's name in the story is Hero, and is referred to as Zero, Quatre's name is Raberba-Winner. This is both a contextual and an artistic decision to change some of their names. I'll be sure to note when other characters pop up with alternative names so nobody gets confused.

The plan of this story is to be about six chapters long or so. I'm trying to make each chapter unique enough to keep myself interested in writing the whole story and for you the readers to keep interested as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Gundam Wing, they belong to their respected owners.

Chapter 1 – The Assassin

Western border region of Texas and Mexico: Mexican side.

1867.

The dust was everywhere, deep within the Chihuahua desert. Sand and dirt were blowing in his face, trekking along the loose sand on the ground. His body was completely covered, a heavy wool blanket wrapped around him, a pair of goggles covering his eyes protecting them from dust. His blond hair was scruffy, filled with dirt and sand. His whole body was covered with dirt and sand. The dirt crusted on his fingers as he held the blanket wrapped around him so for it not to blow away. The wind blew immensely picking up all the loose sand from the ground.

The heat was scorching but he continued to walk. The multiple layers he worn made the heat that much more unbearable but they were a necessity for the other elements the desert threw at him. It was clear God never wanted nor intended for anyone to have to transverse these parts, especially on foot. He could feel his strength slowly drain with every step but knew he must press on. Though the thick cloud of sand made it almost impossible to see a few feet ahead of him if his calculations were accurate, and they always were, his destination was not far.

Only a few more miles and his long journey would come to an end. He was headed for a border town called Topacobne. His feet ached as he took each step. His mouth was dry and begging for water, but he had run out a couple miles back. Most men would count themselves out at this point and consider them self dead. No food or water on them, not able to see what was ahead of them. No way to tell if they were even headed in the right direction. But not him, he was a betting man. This meant he would not cut his loses too soon. His name was Raberba-Winner, the Winner was because he never lost.

***

Topacobne, Mexico-Texas Border. Mexican Side.

In the distance the sound of galloping could be heard. Not just one horse though but a dozen. Quickly the streets began to clear out; everyone ran inside. It was not long before the entire main street of the town was empty. First there was a calm as the streets lie empty. Soon the galloping began to get loader and loader. It would not be long before in the distance figures could be seen riding on horses. There were about six men on horseback all dressed as respectable cowboys. They were guarding a stagecoach each riding on opposite sides of it. The group rode to the end of the street where they finally came to a stop outside of the Inn.

Slowly those who had run for shelter began to immerge to get a glimpse at the travelers. The sound of a group of galloping horses in these parts meant bandits so most were surprised to see such a clear bunch. Out from the Inn came a young man dressed in black, he walked over to the side of the porch, he watched closely as the men descended down off of their horses. He had medium brown hair mostly covered by his hat. As the guards approached the stagecoach the man in black took out his pipe, he began to smoke as he watched with intrigue. His name was Hero, but most knew him by reputation as Zero.

The first man to the stagecoach opened the door wide. Slowly an attractive young woman descended down onto the rigid ground. She was dressed nicely with a clean flowing red dress. Not the prettiest girl in the world but in these parts a girl with her looks was a dime a dozen. She was followed by a much older man in formal dress as well. He had this smile on his face, something that stood out for Zero, he had never seen someone that happy this side of the Mississippi.

The mood in town was cautious. They all kept their distance as the guards began to unpack the stagecoach. A short old fellow dressed in a tarnished suit quickly rushed to the travelers' side. "Foreign Minister Darlian!" the short man called out. "Welcome to our humble town. I hope your visit with the Yankees was a success."

"As close to a success as you can manage with them," Darlian was happy to report.

"Good, excellent!" the short old man proclaimed. "Come, come, let's get you and your boys settled in at our Inn here." He motioned them towards the Inn. Darlian nodded and so they headed towards the Inn. The young female was the last in the group to enter in the Inn. She spent much of her time walking admiring the dirty landscape. This was obviously a new environment for her. As she walked up the steps her gaze shifted for a moment to the young man smoking a pipe standing on the porch. The others did not even give him a glance, but she gave him a complete look over. Zero was an aware of this and gave her a good look over himself.

***

The bottom level of the Inn was a saloon. By night the saloon had become packed after word spread of the Foreign Minister being present there. He positioned himself at the bar as to allow access for the local population to ask him any questions. There at the bar he was joined by the young lady. The closest table was occupied by his guards who were enjoying a game of cards.

"Minister, when can we expect to have Texas back under our control?" A local townsman asked him.

"I'd like to say soon but there is no telling when. Those stubborn Yanks really don't want to let it go but we're not able to let them have it." He tried to assure the man.

At the back of the bar in the farthest of corners sat Zero watching all the proceedings. His pipe rested firmly between his lips and a glass of whiskey in his hand. With such a large crowd it would be easy not to notice he was there at all.

"Minister, do you mind me asking who that lovely senorita you have with you is?" Another man asked.

Darlian just shrugged and let off a smile. "This beautiful young lady is my daughter, Relena Darlian. It's her first time up north. I figured she could handle the journey now that the government's been relocated to Chihuahua." He looked over at his daughter who gave a slight grin in return. Darlian was then nearly knocked to the ground as a man pushed him over to the side to get to the bar. The bar went completely silent. Darlian's guards immediately stood up from their seats but Darlian signed them not to act. Darlian then tapped the man on the shoulder. "Excuse me?" He asked.

The man turned around to look at Darlian. The man was obviously a local, not very intimidating, his clothes were ripped and he was missing a couple front teeth. "What do you want?" the man barked back at Darlian.

"You pushed me and I almost fell. I believe you owe me an apology." Darlian told the man in a calm and cool manner. In the back Zero finished smoking his pipe and downed his what was left of his drink looking on at the confrontation just like everyone else.

The man stuck his finger right at Darlian's chest. "I don't owe you shit! You come in here prancing around like some king. Well let me tell you that nothing or nobody gets in the way of Rico and his drink! No exception!" Rico then turned and faced the bartender. "Bartender! Get me a beer!" he hollered. The barman though just stood at the far side of the bar with his arms crossed and did not move. "What is this?" Rico yelled. He then turned and looked at Darlian who had that same smirk on his face. "Wipe that grin off your face!" Rico yelled as he threw a punch at Darlian.

Darlian was able to dodge the punch with ease. Then he swung his right fist and punched Rico right in the face. Rico lost his footing from the punch but was able to catch himself by grabbing onto the bar. From there he was quick to react grabbing a bottle from the bar and smashing overtop of Darlian's head. Darlian grabbed at his head in pain as Darlian's guards intervened, grabbed Rico and dragged him out of the bar. Relena knelt down to her father's side. "Father! Are you okay?"

"Yes sweetie, I'm fine, I can't feel any bleeding." Darlian said running his hand through his hair. He slowly stood up but wobbled a little getting to his feet needing Relena to help him. "Though I think I'm going to retire to my room for the night." Darlian turned and looked at all the townspeople. "Thank you all for this wonderful night." He said before releasing himself from his daughter's grip. He slowly made his way up the stairs and down the long corridor with doors on either side before coming to his room. He opened the door to a room that was in complete darkness. He closed the door behind him and reached to light a lamp. The match was lit but before he could light it he heard a voice.

"Playing this good guy act might have fooled everyone else in town. But you and me both know, you're a bad man Darlian." The voice said.

Darlian lit the lamp and the room filled with light to reveal Zero sitting on a chair on the far side of the room. Darlian looked him over quickly; something noticeable was that Zero was not holding a revolver. "I have no idea what you are talking about." He replied. Darlian then slowly stepped over to the dresser. There he opened the top drawer with his back to Zero. "I have been an upstanding citizen my whole life." Darlian then swung around quickly holding a revolver he had stashed in the drawer. Quickly he began to fire his revolver at Zero but nothing was happening.

This made Zero chuckle a little. "Honestly? The top drawer of your dresser? That's the most obvious place to stash a gun. Oh and don't bother trying to get at your other one inside your spare boot, I took all the bullets out of that one too."

Back downstairs Relena was having a laugh with some of the locals. While she appeared to be having a good time she was nevertheless worried about her father. Deciding to ease her worries she told the others "I'm going to go check up on my father and make sure he's okay. He seemed a little wobbly getting up." She then ascended from her chair. Looking around the bar the place had really emptied out. One notable absentee for Relena was the man in black who she could not recall if he was even at the saloon that night.

"So are you just going to sit there and talk or are you actually going to shoot me?" Darlian asked facing off against Zero trying to keep his cool. Zero on the other hand was very relaxed.

Zero reached behind his back and pulled out a revolver. "Don't worry; I'm not going to bore you to death." Darlian took a step back in fear as Zero slowly pointed the revolver right at his chest.

The was a creak sound each time Relena placed her foot down on one of the steps as she ascended to the second floor. The creaks disturbed Relena, she began to have a bad feeling. Once on top she looked down the long dark hallway, with doors on either side. She began to walk towards her father's room. The only sound that could be heard was one of the doors behind her opening with a rusted creak. At her father's door she reached down for the door handle.

"Do you have any personal stake in this?" Darlian asked Zero.

"No," Zero replied, "Just business."

Frustration began to fill Darlian, "killed by a petty assassin. This was not the way I had expected to go."

Zero stood up from his seat. "Here," he said as he tossed a bullet to Darlian. "Put that in your gun. So that when they find your body it will not seem like you were completely outsmarted by a petty assassin. A little dignity as you go to your grave." Darlian was taken aback, he looked down at the bullet now resting in the palm of his hand. Slowly he opened the cylinder and placed the bullet in a chamber. He took a deep breath before closing the cylinder.

A hand grabbed Relena's arm preventing her from reaching the doorknob. She looked to her left to see a dirty, scruffy man, with blond hair and goggles standing next to her keeping a firm grip on her arm. "Do you believe in the afterlife? Are you a good Catholic girl?" the man asked her.

Relena was surprised by the stranger and did not know how to react. "Who are you? What do you want?" she asked him. The bang of a single gunshot resonated out of Darlian's room. "Father!" Relena screamed as she broke from the man's grip and ran into the room.

"I sure hope so," Raberba-Winner said as he turned back.

Relena ran into the room. The room was black with the exception of the light that came from the open door to the hallway and the window at the far side. The first thing she saw was the outline of a figure in the back of the room, then down at the ground by her feet where the lifeless body of her father lied. "Daddy!" She screamed. She knelt down but was to afraid to touch his body. Looking up she saw the figure was still there. "Why? Why did you do this?" She cried as tears began to flow down her face.

"I know how you feel, a bad man came and killed my father too, all I can say is I'm sorry." The dark figure spoke.

Breathing heavily Relena looked down at her father's open hand where a sat a revolver. She quickly grabbed the gun and pointed it up at the figure, but he was gone. At this moment some of the guards reached the doorway, having come running since hearing the gunshot.

Outside Zero dropped to the ground. With a quick glance back at the window he had jumped out of he began to run into the thick darkness of night. "There he goes!" he heard someone yell from the window.

Inside there was much rumbling about as all of Darlian's guards ran out to the front of the Inn. There they were met by a number of locals. "We want to help find this bastard too," one of the locals said.

The guards did not seem to mind. "Okay, you guys there check the stables, you guys over there head to the chapel," the head guard barked orders. Everyone began scrambling running off in different directions. "Miguel and Pedro, you two go and search the storehouses." The head guy told two of the other guards.

"I'll come along," A voice said. They all turned to see a blond man with goggles exit the Inn. "I know those storehouses like the back of my palm."

"Okay, lead the way." Miguel told him. Raberba-Winner nodded, he ran from his spot past the guards and towards a set of buildings at the far side of the town. The other two stumbled for a second but was able to catch up and follow closely behind Winner. The storehouses were at the very outreaches of the town. They were rather tall buildings almost looked like miniature warehouses. Once they approached the first building Winner stopped, the others did too. They each pulled out their pistol as they approached the first of three.

It was quieter here, all the yelling and shouting, people firing their pistols into the air, it was all in the distance back towards the Inn. What they heard sounded more like echoes of all the commotion. Winner slowly reached his hand over to the door. Both Miguel and Pedro were standing directly behind Winner on either side. They raised their pistols and aimed for the door. Winner threw open the door. Inside was empty though, as all three looked it over. "Guess he's not in here." Pedro said.

Winner swung around and shot Miguel then Pedro both in the stomach with an impressive amount of haste. Their bodies flew backwards and landed onto the ground almost simultaneously. Winner stood there for a second trying to hear if anyone was alerted by the gunshots. Luckily no one seemed to have noticed or cared. Winner reached down and dragged both bodies into the storehouse and closed the door behind him. He then gave the place a quick look over before saying "Zero, you can come down now, the coast is clear."

Winner stood there for a couple seconds before he saw Zero drop down from the rafters of the building onto the ground. "How did you know I was here?"

"I just wagered this was the best hiding spot in town. No one is going to think to look up at the rafters in one of the buildings, probably just give it a quick glance over. The morning comes, someone delivers a shipment, and you're able to drop down, stow away and make a clean getaway." Winner explained his logic. "But come I've got two horses waiting out back, we can leave tonight."

"Not so fast," a voice said. They both turned to see that same short old man who had greeted Darlian when he first arrived. "Zero still needs to get paid for a job well done, though our secure hiding spot looks like it wasn't as secure as we had thought."

The old man walked to Zero and handed him a bag of coins. "Thank you, Doctor J." Zero said to him.

"Alright now come on," Winner said as he began to jog towards the exit. Zero turned and followed closely behind him leaving Doctor J standing in the middle of the room. Winner opened the door slightly and looked out. There did not seem to be anyone around. Winner was nevertheless cautious as he exited, sticking to the side of the building with Zero following right behind him. They got to the other side of the storehouse where just as Winner had said were two houses tied to a pole and waiting. Winner quickly untied them then grabbed the first one and began to mount it.

Zero grabbed the second one and looked over at Winner. "Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Raberba-Winner, and I'm your next client."


	2. The Thief

So yeah here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Gundam Wing, they belong to their respected owners.

Chapter 2 – The Thief

Chihuahua desert, Mexico.

A group of men were sitting around a camp fire. Their horses were tied to a tree nearby. Each of them looked grizzled, dirty and tired. There was a silence among them as they ate the slop prepared over the fire. A big man with a long mustache began to speak. "Let us go over the plans of attack." He then picked up a stick off the ground and drew a square in the dirt. "This is the bank." The others looked down at the ground, then back up at him. "We will arrive in the late afternoon after the bank has closed."

"Why are we heading there during daylight when we could arrive under the darkness of night? Rubio?" One of the other three men asked.

Rubio was quick to respond. "Because any light we might need inside the bank will be visible outside, giving all who pass by a clear indication someone is inside the bank who shouldn't be you idiot." The other man stayed quiet deciding not to answer back. "Vico and I will take guard posts here and here on the right and left side of the front of the bank." Rubio drew two letter Xs on one side of the square. "You other two will enter the bank, crack the safe, and get the money. Remember all the windows are barred and the only entrance is at the front. So if anything happens that's your only escape. If anything is to happen it is every man for himself when it comes to getting out of the town alive. We will then regroup in El Paso where the money will be distributed." Rubio looked at the other men; they gave him agreeing nods, except one.

He had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, he wore a poncho with a black hat leaning forward covering the top half of his face. "It's not going to work." The man said in a soft voice.

"What do you mean? Duo? What's not going to work?" Rubio demanded, slightly agitated.

Slowly Duo rose from his seat. He walked over to where Rubio was sitting. He swiped the stick away from Rubio's hand. "You're forgetting something very important." He began to draw a second square next to the original one. "Rojo and I can sneak into bank easily without anyone really noticing. But having two armed men stand guard outside is going to draw a lot of attention, especially when the Sheriff's office is right across the street." He said pointing at the second square with his stick. He then began to draw two more squares on either side of the second, making a line of three squares parallel to the first. "Beside the Sheriff's office is a hotel and print shop. "Rubio, you and Vico will stand at the far corners of each. That way you can watch over the front of the bank without being in sight of the Sheriff."

The others paused for a second and thought over what Duo had to say. Rubio just shook his head. "I don't like it. We're too separated and there'd be no way for us to contact you inside and giving any kind of warning."

"Any gunfire with be enough warning. You guys just keep that front entrance clear so when we walk out with the money we'll be able to have a clean getaway." Duo told him.

Rubio was still not convinced. "I still don't like it."

"Well you're doing it if you like it or not." Duo said as placed his hand on his holster. Rubio did not take kindly to threats and drew his revolver. Duo though was faster; he drew his pistol and shot the sombrero off of Rubio.

Rubio reached at his head and felt his exposed scalp. His focus shifted back to Duo as they both had their revolvers aimed at each other's head. "May I remind you senor Maxwell who is in charge of our little outfit, the one who brought us all together?" Rubio called out in anger.

"Then I'll remind you who is the one who is going to crack that safe open and make this entire operation possible." Duo said back still with a calmness in his voice.

"You are not the only safecracker in the world Duo." Rubio said.

"You're right," Duo seceded. "But I am the only safecracker in El Paso. And how long do you think until another one comes through, weeks, months, years? Do you want to wait that long to get rich or do you want to do what I say and get rich tomorrow?" Duo asked Rubio.

Rubio stood there in silence for a few seconds as he thought things over. He sighed as he lowered his gun, "Okay Duo, we do it your way." He then turned around, picked up his hat and put it back on.

Ojo Caliente, Mexico

The door burst open; Rojo entered the room with his pistol aimed high. He quickly surveyed the area. After laying eyes on the safe at the far side of the room he began to run in its direction. Duo casually entered into the room, closed the door behind him and walked in the direction Rojo was running. Rojo ran, jumped over a desk and reached the safe. The safe was about three feet high and two feet wide. He turned back to see Duo half way across the room still walking. "Hurry up, Duo, we don't have any time to waste."

"Concentration, I need my concentration in order to crack this safe. It's one of the best designed safes in production right now. If you want to be out of here quickly I would suggest you not critic my process." Duo snapped back at him. Rojo remained silent but agitated as Duo reached the safe. With a quick overview of the safe Duo took out a pouch of tools. He began inspect with his tools the slits in the safe around the door and the hatch. There did not seem to be any weak point or flaw.

Soon Duo abandoned his tools. "Looks like I'm going to have to do this the hard way," he said to Rojo. Duo simply placed his ear to the safe and began turning the dial at the front of it. Rojo remained nervous continuously looking around. A clicking noise could be heard coming from the safe. Rojo looked down at Duo happily. "That's one number down, five more to go," said Duo keeping the side of his face pressed against the safe. The expression on Rojo quickly soured.

To calm his nerves Rojo took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. He grabbed a match and stroked it against his boot. He lifted the match right up to his face when a gunshot was heard. Rojo immediately turned his head and faced the direction the gunshot came from. Not thinking about the match that finished burning and burn his fingers. "Ouch!" Rojo blurted out. He then rushed over to Duo and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come one Duo! We have to bail!"

Duo did not take his concentration off from the safe and simply swatted away Rojo's hand. "I'm not leaving till I crack this safe, I didn't come all this way for nothing," he declared. A burst of gunfire was heard again.

Rojo stood there for a couple seconds and contemplated his situation. After a little hesitation he raised his revolver up and ran straight out of the bank. Duo just shook his head as he heard a fifth click then another couple shots of gunfire. Unaffected Duo continued turning the dial slowly back and forth. Finally a sixth click was heard. Duo smiled as he stood up and brushed any dirt of his clothing. He reached with his arm to grab the hatch. The tip of a revolver was poked into Duo's back. "Freeze, hand's up." The voice said.

Slowly Duo raised both hands into the air. He was then swung around to face his captor. It was a young female with a golden star on her jacket that read 'Sheriff Hilde Schbeiker'. A small smirk emerged on Duo's face. "Hello Hilde, long time no see."

"Duo," she said back to him coldly. She then reached down to his holster and was surprised with what she found. "Duo? Did you forget your gun?"

Duo looked down at his side to look at his empty holster. "I guess I did. Oh well, at least you won't be hanging a bank robber who didn't even have a gun now would you?" He said to her still with the same smirk.

She rolled her eyes as she directed him to the Sheriff's office. "Come on, I'm taking you to the Sheriff's office. And when you try to escape, which I know you will, I am going to be forced to shoot you." Duo did not muster any complaints as he happily walked across the street and into a holding cell without any protest.

It would be a while before Duo and Hilde were alone. She needed to deal with worried civilians and disposing of three dead bandits. Once they were all sorted out with and with the front door locked she walked over to Duo's cell. "I thought I told you never to step foot in my town again?" she asked him with the same cold tone as before.

"You did," Duo admitted, "But I couldn't stay away."

Again she rolled her eyes as she turned away from his cell. "How did you even get caught up with those guys, they seemed a little below you."

He just shrugged, "They approached me in El Paso, said they wanted to do a job robbing the bank here in Ojo Caliente. I knew you would never let me step back here. So I figured the only way to see you were if you were forced to keep me here." Duo walked up to the door of his cell and rested his arms against it.

"All of a sudden I am the prisoner." She said as she sat down at her desk. "But really Duo, drop the charade, no jail cell can keep you."

He let off a slight smirk as he reached into his hair and pulled out a little pin. He placed the pin in the key hole of his cell door and within seconds his cell door was open. Slowly he approached Hilde. "It doesn't have to be this way, why can't we be together."

"Get it through your thick skull Duo. I'm a Sheriff, the law. You're a thief, a criminal. No matter what my feelings may be that simple fact means we can never be together." She tried to explain to Duo.

He reached her desk and slowly slid his hand across the oak wood. "You killed three people today."

Hilde was a little confused by his statement. "So? It is not like they gave me a choice, I had to."

"And I've never killed anyone unless I had to. The only difference between me and you in those situations has been the star on your jacket. Look all I am saying is that everything isn't as black and white as you make it out to be. There is a lot of grey area out there. I think we're not as different as you believe." Duo said as he took a seat right next to her on the desk. There was a silence in the air as Hilde did not know how to respond. "We can start again, go to the coast, go to San Miguel and start a new life. Things would be different, I would be different." Duo began rambling.

She shook her head. "It's not going to happen Duo, do you think I can just excuse your past, our past? I don't think I need to remind you that you did shoot me."

"That was a mistake, a big mistake. I've made a lot of them in my life. And I've lost a lot of people really close to me because of them, but it's not you gave me a choice, I had to. If you had given me another option than shoot, I guarantee you I would have taken it." He said with real conviction in his voice. He moved in closer to her but stopped when there was a knock on the door.

"Sheriff! I demand you speak with me at once!" a voice called out from the other side.

Both Duo and Hilde sighed. Hilde got up from her seat and headed for the door as Duo walked back to his cell and closed the door behind him. Hilde opened the door to see an overweight man in a suit. The man walked right past her and into the office before turning to her. "Good day Mr. Miller." Hilde said with a fake smile.

"It has hardly been one." He replied sharply. "Four men tried to rob my bank!" He yelled out in frustration.

"I was able to stop them." She assured him.

That though did not seem to give him much comfort. "But you didn't prevent them! Now it will take weeks, months before people are willing to trust us with their money again." He called out still venting his anger. "And now I hear you're holding one in a cell. I demand he get the gallows immediately!"

"I can't do that, his crime does not merit an execution. He will be transferred to Chihuahua for sentencing and jail time." She explained to him.

This made him even angrier. "Listen here, you slut, we're the ones that put you in charge here so you better do what I say!" he demanded.

"Hey!" Duo called out from his cell, the two others turned and looked at him. "That's no way to treat a lady."

"You shut the hell up!" Mr. Miller demanded.

This made Duo chuckle a little, obviously pleased "Yeah? Why don't you come and make me?"

Hilde on the other hand was not pleased. "Quiet!" She called out to Duo. She then turned and looked at Mr. Miller. "I was put in charge of keeping the law in check. I'm not going to hang a man for attempted robbery who wasn't even carrying a gun. And if you have a problem with that then I say good luck trying to explain to others I'm wrong." She said with confidence.

Mr. Miller was furious, trying to think of someone to say back but could not. Instead he turned and headed for the door. "Wait," Hilde said to him. He turned and looked at her. She walked right up to him and punched him straight in the face. The force of the blow sent him straight to the ground. "Never call me that again," she told him.

Quickly Mr. Miller scrambled to his feet. He then hastily made his way to the door. On his way out he turned and called out "I'm going to make sure they rip that star right off your chest!" With that he was gone.

Duo had his arms crossed sitting on the bunk in the cell with his eyes closed. It was now dark out. Hilde had fallen asleep at her desk. Duo slowly opened one of his eyes, and then the other. He ascended from the bunk and walked over to the door to his cell. He grabbed two bars and pressed his face against the door peering out at Hilde. Her head and arms were lying on the desk as she slept soundly. Duo took the chance to admire her beauty and the calm surrounding her. Not wanting this moment to end he let out a sigh. Then he jumped as quickly as possible to the ground, laid down flat and covered his head with his arms for protection.

The back wall of the Sheriff's office exploded, dust and debris flew through the air and filled the entire room. Hilde was sent flying backwards onto the ground. Though the initial bump knocked her out she avoided any more debris hitting her. After the dust started to settle a large hole could be seen in the middle of the wall.

Outside two figures stood on either side watching the inside. Slowly a figure emerged, Duo slowly walked through the hole while brushing off the dust and ash off his clothing. He looked up at the two men standing there watching him. "Duo Maxwell, Dios de la Muerte, at your service." He said with a bow.

One of the figures let off a slight smirk. "I'm Raberba-Winner, this is Zero, welcome to the team."

Like I said with the last chapter I want each chapter to be unique enough. The first chapter I guess you could say had a more suspenseful angle, or at least that was what I was trying for. Of course this chapter was more of love story.

The whole bank robbery idea comes from the movies _For a Few Dollars More_ and _Duck, You Sucker!_, both Sergio Leone films, both definitely worth checking out. While neither have the more romantic angle to it, the idea of the "gentleman thief" is nothing new. You can look up that exact phrase on and get a whole list of characters. I quite enjoy this motif and a lot of my favorite characters from different mediums fit the bill (Sly Cooper, Gambit).


	3. The Spy

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Gundam Wing, they belong to their respected owners.

Chapter 3 – The Spy

Chihuahuan desert, Mexico.

A small camp fire battles the winds and the cold of the desert night, flickering about. Sitting around the fire were three men. "Wait, you're telling me we're going all the way to Janos and we're not even going to be able to recruit this guy?" Duo asked as he huddled close to the fire for warmth.

"No, we're just not going to be able to recruit him right away. He's doing a job at the moment so we're going to have to wait for him to finish." Raberba-Winner tried to explain. He was warm enough under his blanket but was holding onto it tight as the wind was strong enough to blow it away. Zero, the third member of their party was sitting in comfort smoking his pipe, it seemed nothing affected him, cold or wind.

Duo grabbed a log from his feet and tossed it onto the fire. "Then why couldn't we just head to El Paso and wait for him to be finished there."

Winner shook his head. "This guy is the most elusive one out of all of you. He doesn't even have a real name, just takes on other people's identities. I don't even know what he looks like, see he doesn't have a wanted poster." Winner said, directly that last part at Duo with a glance. "Anyway I got a really lucky and got a tip off he's infiltrated the Sheriff's office in Janos as a deputy. Once he's done what he's done whatever he's doing there we can't let him slip by. So we're just going to head there and wait."

There was no sense arguing because Duo could see Winner's point. "I never even heard about this guy, which is strange for someone operating in my area. I mean I've heard of Zero over here." Duo said, he and Zero then exchanged glances. "I once was told about this story of you killing a politician mid day in front of a crowd then just disappearing without a trance. They should have given you the name Dios de la Muerte, if it wasn't already taken."

"What is your kill count?" Zero asked.

Duo remained silent for a second, he held onto his heavy heart. "Directly, Seven. Indirectly, Twenty-Eight, plus a whole church full of people during Mass on an Easter Sunday. And I plan on keeping those numbers where they are."

Janos, Mexico.

The three figures rode into the town. It was quickly apparent the emptiness within this town, even though it was quite large. There were few people out on the streets; most houses did not look as if they had been lived in for years. The town looked like it was in the early stages of becoming a ghost town. They soon approached what appeared to be the town's Inn.

After tying their horses to the front the three entered the ground floor of the Inn. The entire bar area was completely disserted, not a single person was there. Raberba-Winner walked over to the bar and chimed a bell. The others found a table and took a seat. It would be a minute before a figure immerged from the back. An old man, with a large white beard entered from behind the bar. "Sorry about the wait, wasn't expecting anyone to drop by, business has been slow recently."

"We can see that, we're looking to stay a couple days, on our way up to White Rock for work." Winner told him. "Mind me asking why business has been so slow?"

"It's that damned bandit, Villega, he's set up camp south in some old ruins. Him and his men have been terrorizing the roads outside of town. Anyone who comes or goes through those roads has a good chance of being robbed. Though you boys don't seem like the type to stick to the roads." The old man said looking over his guests. "Anyways naturally everyone's scared to come here now. Well enough of me babbling, I'm Howard, you boys can stay as long as you want, just as long you have to money to pay. Take a seat and I'll put together some drinks." Howard turned back and grabbed a bottle from the shelf.

Winner turned and walked to the table where his compatriots were sitting. "You have a Sheriff here don't you, why doesn't he just go out and confront this Villega guy?"

Howard began to pour the drink into a couple of glasses. "Yeah, we have a Sheriff, though he's almost as big of a criminal as Villega. The man won't do anything to stop Villega until his bounty increases or Villega steals something Sheriff Barton figures will provide him enough of a monetary gain from capturing him."

"Hey that's not fair," a voice called out from the doorway. They all turned to see a rather large man, very well built with blond hair, and a Sheriff star pinned to his long dark brown coat that stretched all the way down to his knees. Howard quickly retreated to behind the bar. "Wanting a little extra for my troubles does not make me a criminal Howard." The man started to walk to the bar, he looked over at Winner and the gang sitting at their table. "Hola amigos, the name is Sheriff Trowa Barton, welcome to my town. As long as you don't cause any trouble or have any outstanding warrants for your arrest," Duo and Zero both turned their heads as to not allow Trowa to see their faces, "you won't have any problems with me." Trowa then reached over and grabbed one of the glasses Howard had poured out for the others and drank it. Two other figures emerged at the doorway. Trowa looked back at them, "Ah, here are my deputies. Bloom is the one on the right, and the short one is Torres."

The three guys turned and looked over the two deputies. Torres was rather short, scruffy with red hair. Bloom was quite unique in the fact that he was an American (white), just as tall as Trowa but incredibly skinny, with long brown hair covering half his face.

Trowa grabbed the other two glasses from the bar, quickly drank them down then proceeded to the doorway. After he and his deputies had left Zero turned to Winner, "Bloom is our guy," he said.

"How can you tell?" Winner asked.

"His boots, they're two sizes too big. They are not his, they belonged to somebody else." Zero pointed out his observation.

Winner could not help but agree with his logic. "I definitely like the odds."

"Now all we have to do is sit and wait." Duo said as he sat back in his chair and stretched out his arms. He then looked over at Howard. "How about pouring some more drinks there barkeep."

The road outside of Janos

The terrain was very rigid and hard to manoeuvre. The roads did not help much. A stagecoach drove down the bumpy road. Two armed men occupied the front of the stagecoach steering it around the large bends in the road. Inside sat two individuals, both well dressed. The sun was shining as it was broad daylight. This allowed those in front a clear view of all of their surroundings. However it did not allow them to see past the narrow pass between two towering rocks both well above the height of the stagecoach. The driver treated this narrow path as any stretch of the road.

When the stagecoach passed through a sound of scurrying could be heard from ontop one of the rocks. Both men at the front looked upwards to see a figure jump down from one of the rocks onto the roof of stagecoach behind them. The figure quickly using the blunt side of his Winchester rifle batted the one of the men straight off the stagecoach, tumbling onto the ground. The other was able to turn around and grab the rifle, preventing it from hitting him. The figure though sent out a swift kick into the man's stomach sending him off the stagecoach as well. The figure then quickly sat down and took hold of the leather straps and tried to keep the horses going steady.

The two dazed men slowly tried to get up from the ground. As they nearly got to their feet more figures on horseback emerged behind them. The lead horseback rider was Villega, a rather large man with a big bushy beard, dark brown cowboy hat and sinister laugh, took out his revolver and shot both men in the back as he rode by. The group of horseback riders soon caught up to the stagecoach. When they got close one of the passengers inside opened the door and took a shot with his pistol at a tailing horseback rider but missed. One of the bandits shot the man with their revolver and his body fell out of the stagecoach and rolled away on the ground. Finally the figure driving the stagecoach pulled off the road and stopped. The bandits regrouped as they all got off their horses next to the stagecoach. The last passenger was pulled out of the stagecoach, without any hesitation was executed with a bullet to the head by Villega. He then looked up at figure standing on top of the stagecoach. "Good work Senor Heavyarms, your job is done, you can go." he called out to him.

Heavyarms nodded, a tall skinny man with a bandana covering his face. He jumped down off the stagecoach and walked over and mounted a horse. Without saying a word he turned and rode off away from the group. Villega turned and faced the others. "Okay amigos, you know what to do. Search the belongings then torch the thing." Villega returned to atop his horse as the others began to search through the luggage that was on top of the stagecoach. Villega's attention turned to his cigar as he began to light it.

"Villega! You have to come see this!" One of the bandits called out.

After Villega had fully lit his cigar he tossed the match and slowly rode his horse right up to the stagecoach and peered down. One of the bandits opened up a chest to show Villega the contents. "Well, I'll be damned," he said with a laugh. "Well amigos, I think we just hit the jackpot!"

Janos, Mexico

Back in the saloon, the three guys were sitting around. Raberba-Winner was reading a book. Zero was sitting in a far corner smoking his pipe. Duo was entertaining himself with a game of cards. They were in a short of uncomfortable silence. The doors of the saloon creaked open and Bloom entered into the room. The only one to take notice was Duo. Bloom walked up to the front of the bar and raised a single finger to Howard. Howard was quick to grab a bottle of liquor and pour him a glass. Bloom grabbed the glass, took a sip and looked around the room at the others. He then proceeded to walk to an unoccupied table and took a seat.

Watching him closely was Duo, who then looked over at Winner. He waited for Winner to raise his head from his book, Winner then let off a slight nod before retreating back to his book. The nod was all Duo needed as he got up from his seat and walked over to Bloom. "Hey, I must say mister, you don't look like most Sheriffs or Deputies we have around this region." Duo told Bloom as he took a seat across at the same table across from him.

Bloom kept his head down focused on his glass, with his hair covering his eyes, not allowing Duo to see where he was looking. "You don't look like most ranchers heading to White Rock for work." Bloom said in reply with a soft quiet voice. He then raised his head to take a sip of his drink, it allowed Duo to see his eyes, and they were firmly planted on him. "Duo Maxwell."

This took Duo by surprise. He quickly turned to Winner who had heard all of their exchange. Winner smiled a little as he put down his book and walked over to Bloom. Duo got up from his seat to allow Winner to sit directly across from Bloom. "I have a job for you No-Name." Winner said once he sat down.

"I have a name, it's Bloom. What's yours?" Bloom replied.

"Raberba-Winner," Winner said back.

Before Bloom could say anything more, there was a commotion outside. They all turned and looked at the door. Trowa Barton burst through the door with a large smile on his face. "Outstanding Bloom, your plan worked. We've got Villega right where we want him. It's time we go get that son of a bitch." Trowa declared with great jubilation. Bloom got up from his seat and started to head for the door.

"What was your plan?" Winner asked from behind the counter.

Trowa looked at Winner, "Bloom got the idea here to send a message to main bank over in El Paso. Told them to send over a chest full of cash. See there's an old mine at the outskirts of town. The bank has been trying for years to purchase it but whoever owns it is not willing to give it up. Apparently it is worth a pretty penny. We told them the person was ready to buy but to not draw any attention to themselves transport the money on a civilian stagecoach with minimal guards. And looks like Villega took the bait."

"Yeah," Howard said, "You got Villega right where you want him, rich."

That comment made Trowa grin even more, "Exactly and when this is all over, it's going to be us who will be rich. Come on Bloom, we've got some bandit hunting to do!" Trowa then turned and exited out the front door.

Before Bloom left as well he turned and looked at Winner. "This will be a different town when this is over, best you be ready for it."

The Ruins of Casas Grandes, Mexico (Villega's base of operations)

The three men of law rode on their horses as they approached the ruins. The buildings were made of white stone. Those on the outskirts were the most destroyed, most were just walls. As they came closer a bandit guard could be seen standing on top of one of the ruin buildings. Trowa was quick to the draw, only needing a single shot from his revolver, and the bandit grabbed at his chest before falling down from his perch. Now the others within the ruins knew of the attackers' presence.

When they reached the first few destroyed buildings all three dismounted from their horses. Trowa and Torres went one direction and Bloom went another. Going through the ruins, there was plenty of cover. Trowa and Torres stayed low behind the walls as they sneaked closer to the center. With all the debris and destroyed walls the inside of the ruins was like a maze. There was no telling who would walk past the next corner. A group of bandits mistakenly went right in front of their sights. Trowa and Torres were quick to fire and killed all three bandits simultaneously.

Bloom was able to find higher ground climbing on top of one of the few buildings still with a roof. He continued to run jumping from one building to another trying to get to the center and keeping cover over Trowa and Torres.

Slowly Trowa and Torres came to the center of the ruins, a large open space in the middle. As they ascended into it a bandit came around the corner but Trowa was able to shoot him before he got a shot. In the open space was Villega and two other bandits each with their revolvers drawn. A shot rained from one of the roof tops, hitting one of the bandits right in the chest. Villega and the other surviving bandit got behind some debris. Villega looked to see Bloom up on top of a building, then at Trowa and Torres closing on from the ground. He and the bandit then ran for cover within one of the few buildings still intact.

Trowa looked up at Bloom and nodded, Bloom nodded back. Trowa and Torres then followed Villega into the building. The building was rather large, Trowa and Torres past through a couple rooms before they found Villega and the other bandit who were standing with their backs against a far wall trapped. "This is it Villega, your time is up." Trowa said. Trowa and Torres entered into the room.

"I surrender," Villega said as he raised his two arms. The other bandit was shocked but also slowly raised his arms too.

This made Trowa let off a slight grin. "I always knew you were a coward. I don't need to kill you; I'll make my money anyway. Though I got to ask, where's your second hand? Heavyarms? He's got a pretty price on his head too."

"Heavyarms?" Villega asked, now it was his turn to grin. "He's right behind you."

The clicking sound of the action from a Winchester rifle was heard. Trowa and Torres turned around to see Bloom standing there with his rifle pointed at them. There was a moment of collective silence as Trowa let the betrayal sink in, but he could only muster a "You son of a b-" before Villega grabbed his revolver and shot both Trowa and Torres in the back a number of times. Their bodies fell forward and onto the ground right at the feet of Bloom.

Villega let of a sinister laugh watching their bodies hit the floor. He then looked at Bloom. "Good job Heavyarms. You had me worried for a second when you killed Juan that you had switched sides but I see your reasoning. Splitting the loot three ways is better than four." Villega lowered his gun and looked down at the dead bodies of Trowa and Torres again. He could not help but laugh.

"You're wrong Villega." Bloom spoke. Villega looked at Bloom with a puzzled face. "I was never on your side." Bloom said with his soft quiet voice. Villega then looked down to see Bloom's rifle now aimed at him.

"You no good double crossing bastard." Villega mustered out as he grabbed for his pistol. Bloom fired and shot Villega in chest. He then cocked the lever action and fired a second shot in the chest of the other bandit all within a second. The bandit's dead body fell forward face first onto the ground. Villega's body hit the back wall and then slowly the lifeless body slid down the wall leaving a trail of blood.

Bloom walked over to the body of Villega, he bent down and picked up Villega's hat. "I am not Heavyarms." He placed the hat on his head then walked over to the body of Trowa. He took off Trowa's long dark jacket and put it on. "Nor am I Bloom." He then walked to the left side of the room. There was a chest, he kicked it open. Peering at what was inside he closed it, picked it up and exited. "I am No-Name."

Janos, Mexico

The streets were very quiet, no one was moving about. The wind was harsh and sand blew along the ground. No-Name rode down the main street on his horse wearing his new drags. Slowly he approached the Sheriff's office. No-Name got off his horse and tied it to the outside of the building. He reached over and untied the chest from the back of the horse. He then walked up and entered the front doors.

"Hello No-Name." Raberba-Winner said. He stood near the front doors inside the Sheriff's office. Zero smoked his pipe leaning against the right wall and Duo sat on the Sheriff's desk. No-Name looked behind them to see the evidence safe broken into.

Duo followed No-Name's eyes to the safe. "Yeah, about that, we couldn't resist. Not after you gave us that tip off. Your share is on the desk here." Duo said pointing to a small pile of cash and coins resting on the desk not far from Duo.

"No-Name, I want to offer you a job. And I am willing to pay you very well." Winner offered.

There was a pause as No-Name slowly looked over each of the three as he placed the chest down on the ground. "Okay," he said. "I just need to finish my job here."

"What is your job anyway? Who are you working for?" Duo asked.

"The bank." Zero said. Everyone turned and looked at Zero. He stood up and walked over to No-Name. "It wasn't Trowa, you're wearing his coat." Zero made the observation. "It wasn't Villega, you're wearing his hat." He pointed out as well. "And I know it's his hat because I watched your little heist on the road yesterday." Zero walked right up to No-Name then kicked the chest on the ground. "If you were planning on keeping this, I highly doubt you wouldn't have buried it, especially knowing one of the most infamous thieves around is staying at this very town. No this belongs to your employer."

No-Name chuckled a little, "I knew it was Mr. Maxwell here because I took down his wanted sign off the Sheriff's wall not that long ago." He then looked over at Duo. "Sorry, you're bounty just wasn't high enough for Sheriff Barton." He then turned his attention back to Zero. "But now I know who you are, Zero, assassin extraordinaire. And you're right, I am hired by the bank. The owner of the mine did not want to sell it before the town had been rid of both Trowa and Villega."

"Why? That doesn't make much sense. Just sell the mine and be done with it." Duo asked.

"The owner of the mine can both profit from selling the mine but also having the mine fully develop." No-Name said.

"Howard," Winner guessed.

No-Name nodded. "He can make a lot of money if the mine becomes a success and caters to it, owning the sole saloon in town," No-Name explained. "I will give him the money; he'll hand over the land deed. Then I must travel to El Paso to give the bank the deed and my job is done. After that I can join you."

Winner let off a grin. "We'll join you to El Paso. It's on the way to our next stop." No-Name nodded. Winner had just one more piece of business. "What should we call you? Is No-Name okay?"

"No," No-Name said shaking his head. "I need an identity to be referred to as; otherwise I don't have a cover." He then looked down at his jacket and the Sheriff star still pinned to it. "Trowa, from now on call me Trowa." he said. He then grabbed the Sheriff star, ripped it off the jacket, and tossed it onto the ground.

After word:

So yeah this whole chapter was really a homage to The Man with No Name. Rarely do you get a chance to have a nameless character which the Trowa character was able to provide. If anyone has watched the film _A Fistful of Dollars_ which stars the character of The Man with No Name played by Clint Eastwood you can see a lot that I drew from for this chapter. Now _A Fistful of Dollars_ is actually a remake of the Japanese film _Yojimbo_. Basically the only difference is feudal Japan with Samurais and the old west with Cowboys. _A Fistful of Dollars_ was really the film that started the whole Spaghetti Western subgenre. Spaghetti Westerns were usually Italian-Spanish co-productions and filmed in parts of Italy and Spain that resemble the old west. They featured anti-heroes who were just as likely to deceive and betray you as the antagonists they fought. This chapter actually resembles more from another Spaghetti Western remake of _Yojimbo_ (there were a lot) called _Django_.

There is still one more character that needs to be recruited, we already have an Assassin, a Thief, and now a Spy, any guesses what's next? Quatre does have a title too, it will be exposed later.


End file.
